Friday, April 04, 2008

A trip to the supermarket in Paris is always a lesson in linguistics. It's then that I realize how many words aren't necessarily to be found in the standard French-English dictionary.

Classic Film.... what we would call "Saran Wrap." Gee, I would call "Gone With the Wind" a classic film.

(One of my favorite brand-name untranslatables a while back was a French powdered milk called "Quick Lait.")

But I started thinking about all the brand-name household items that have a very different name in France. The proper word apparently is "Genericized Trademarks". Here, compiled from Wikipedia and a few from my own collections, are such words and their French counterparts where I could find them, or think of them off the top of my head. Suggestions, definitions, and corrections welcome.

Isabelle, Thanks -- and I wonder if papier kraft is a genericized trademark from English.

Art -- you win the prize! Wow, so many that I had to lug my 8-lb "Dictionnaire Visuel" out and find some answers. Philips Head is tournevis cruciforme, vice grip (if I've got the thingy IDed properly) is levier de serrage. Couldn't find an Allen wrench anywhere; perhaps someone with an IKEA delivery can help us out with that.

Or else I'll have to take at trip to BHV and get the answers. Spackle! Why didn't I think of that?

I didn't include a lot of items that aren't really found in France, like Kool Aid -- but I think we have the beginnings of a good glossary going here.

The French government has a new website for eliminating the annoying anglicisms in everyday use. All of those -ings, which can be confusing to this American because they often take on new meaning in French.

Nino-- Hi, and I think Tupperware is just Tupperware; I don't know if the brand is here.

I am looking for the name of a "classic film" the plastic wrap that is sold at Super U and other supermarkets in France; also comes in a green and white box ... help please it's driving me crazy not being able to find the word!